DGAP-News: Leifheit Aktiengesellschaft / Key word(s): Half Year
Results/Interim Report
Leifheit Aktiengesellschaft: Focus on 'Brands and Margins' led to
improved half-year
13.08.2014 / 08:36
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Leifheit AG: Focus on "Brands and Margins" led to improved half-year
results and stable turnover
- Group turnover remains stable at EUR 108.3 million
- Brand Business grows at approximately 2%
- Gross margin improves, rising to 47.4%
- EBIT increases to EUR 8.1 million
- Overall forecast for the year affirmed
Nassau, 13 August 2014 - Pursuant to the "Brands and Margins" objective for
the 2014 financial year, the Leifheit Group ended the first six months with
an increase in turnover in the Group's Brand Business sector and a
distinctly improved result for the Group as a whole. Overall, the six-month
report submitted today displays business development in line with
expectations:
Group turnover remained at EUR 108.8 million in line with the previous
year's level of EUR 108.3 million. Gross margin grew from 43.6% to 47.4%.
The operating profit (EBIT), which rose considerably from EUR 5.0 million
to EUR 8.1 million, was accompanied by a clearly increased EBIT-margin of
7.5 % compared to the previous year's value of 4.5%. Overall, the Leifheit
Group reported a greatly improved net income of EUR 5.2 million in the
first six months of 2014 in comparison to that of the EUR 3.3 million
achieved in 2013.
Thomas Radke, Chairman of the Leifheit AG Executive Board, spoke positively
of the six-month result: "The development of the business is clearly
heading in the right direction. Our Brand Business is growing and at the
same time we are improving the profitability of the entire Group."
Brand Business grows
The Brand Business, under which the Group manages Leifheit and Soehnle
branded products, reported a turnover of EUR 90.4 million in the first six
months of 2014, thereby achieving a growth of 1.8% in comparison to the
previous year. Despite the withdrawal of a prominent customer in the DIY
market having had a noticeable effect on the business since the beginning
of the year, Leifheit was able to successfully compensate for this via
other trade channels. The cleaning and laundry care product categories
proved themselves to be particularly strong driving forces in the process.
The Brand Business' share of the Group turnover rose accordingly by 1.9% to
83.5%. The segment EBIT increased from EUR 4.1 million in the previous year
to EUR 6.9 million.
Increased EBIT in the Volume Business with a slight decline in turnover
As expected, the strategic concentration on the Brand Business led to a
decline in turnover in the Volume Business, the considerably smaller sector
of the Group. Turnover fell by 11.1% to EUR 17.9 million in comparison to
the first six months of 2013; the Group's share of the turnover fell by
1.9% to 16.5. However, despite the lower turnover, improved gross margin
and cost savings resulted in an increase in the segment EBIT from EUR 0.9
million in the previous year to the current EUR 1.2 million.
Forecast unchanged
The forecast for the future business development of Leifheit AG remains
unchanged from that given in the 2013 Annual Financial Report. The company
continues to pursue the conservative ambition for steady growth in the 2014
financial year: a Group turnover similar to the adjusted figures for 2013
is expected. Appropriate to its current "Brands and Margins" objective the
Executive Board anticipates an increase in turnover of 1 to 3 % in the
Brand Business. In contrast, the Volume Business segment will be further
managed in terms of profitability, highlighted by a slight decrease in
turnover.
Leifheit anticipates an EBIT for 2014 at the good level reached in the
previous year which settled at EUR 14.9 million.
Additional information can be found in the Financial Report for the first
six months of 2014, available at financial-reports.leifheit-group.com.
About Leifheit
Founded in 1959, Leifheit AG is one of the leading European brand suppliers
of household items. The company stands for high-quality, innovative
products with great utility and pioneering design in the sectors of
cleaning, laundry care, kitchen goods and wellbeing. Leifheit and Soehnle
are among the best-known brands in Germany. Other than in the Brand
Business, Leifheit AG operates in the service-oriented Volume Business via
its French subsidiaries Birambeau and Herby. Taking into account its
international branches, the Leifheit Group has around 1,000 employees in
total.
Contact:
Leifheit AG
D-56377 Nassau
ir@leifheit.com
+49 2604 977218
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Language: English
Company: Leifheit Aktiengesellschaft
LeifheitstraÃe
56377 Nassau / Lahn
Germany
Phone: 02604 977-0
Fax: 02604 977-340
E-mail: ir@leifheit.com
Internet: www.leifheit.com
ISIN: DE0006464506
WKN: 646450
Listed: Regulierter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard);
Freiverkehr in Berlin, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Hannover,
München, Stuttgart
End of News DGAP News-Service
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282049 13.08.2014
DGAP-News: Leifheit Aktiengesellschaft: Focus on 'Brands and Margins' led to improved half-year
| Source: EQS Group AG